Internal-combustion engine.



No. 886,662. PATENTED MAY 5, 1908. J. SULZER.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY27.1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

oweukoz atmnwl I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAKOB SULZER, OF WINTERTHUR, SWITZERLAND, ASSIGNOR TO GEBRUDER SULZER,OF WINTERTHUR, SWITZERLAND, A FIRM.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ma 5, 1908.

burning internal combustion engines wherein the duration of the period.of burning of the fuel in the production ofthe pressure medium isriagulated by the rate of introduction of the foe As is well known,internal combustion engines as heretofore operated on the slow burningprinciple, have had the air separately compressed and the fuel graduallyintroduced mto the compressed air accompanied by simultaneous ignitionand burnmg. It has also been proposed in operating internal combustionengines heretofore, to over-compress a portion of the explosive mixtureor of the fuel up to or beyond a tem.

perature that will cause ignition, in order to avoid the use of externalor auxiliary sparking or igniting attachments.

According to the present invention, air is used as the igniting medium,either in its pure state or with a dilution of fuel or of some inert gasand this air, after being compressed in the main compression chamber ofthe engine, by the instroke of the working piston, has a portionover-compressed in a small supplemental pressure chamber having anindependent piston, or other means for compression and delivery andcommunicating with the Working cylinder through restricted passages, insuch a manner that when the over-compression has taken place up to atemperature sufficient to ignite fuel this su erheated air is forcedthrough the restricte assages in the working cylinder, and the fuelwhich it is desired to so ignite, and to burn to produce the actuatingpressure of the engine, is s rayed or otherwise introduced into the bodyof compressed air in the combustion chamber of the working cylinder oron its way thereto and in contact with the jet of superheated air. Bythis means, the rate of burning maybe regulated not only bythe'character of the superheated air introduced, but also by thecharacter of the over-com ression and delivery and the pressuredeveibped may also be made to correspond to any curve by the rate atwhich the fuel is introduced.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which twoembodiments are shown by way of explanation Figures 1 and 2 being axialsections of an engine constructed and operating in accordance with myinvention andFig. 3- a modification of the gearing, Fig. 4 is a sectionthroughthe engine showing the inlet valves for the air to the maincylinder.

Similar letters refer to similar parts through;- out the figures.

a. is the working cylinder in which operates the iston 7c having pistonrode; b is a smal er supplemental cylinder arranged at the end of orlaterally to the working cylinder and having its interior in opencommunication with thecompression chamber of the workingcylinder throughthe medium of one or more restricted passages 0 which referably are ofinwardly ta ering form; t e cylinder b is provided wit a piston c whichis operated by any suitable exterior mechanism such as s. I

The operation of the engine is as follows: During the outward stroke ofthe piston k, air is introduced from the outer atmos here into the comression chamber throng the inlet-Valves i in the customary manner. Whenthe iston moves inwardly, the airis compressed not only in the workingcylinder but also in the chamber 1) into which the air passes throughthe passages 0. In the neighborhood of the inner dead point of thepiston k a sudden and ra id inward movement or com ression stro e is imarted to the iston'c, t rough the medium 0 its control m mechanism,which movement is entirely independent of the movement of the piston is.As the air in the cylinder 1) cannot escape rapidly enough through thenarrow passages 0, (Fig. 1) the air is over-com the air jet has injectedinto it, a suitable fuel which is introduced through the channel f andthe ring shaped pipe m which latter is ranged in the working cylin er a.The fuel is ignited by the superheated air and burns.

This burning'is more or less gradual according to the character orduration of this air introduction and consequently according to thenature and speed of the stroke of the piston c.

The controlling ofthe piston 0 may be effected by any suitable knownmeans, such as by cams or eccentrics or the like; or it may be effectedby electric, hydraulic, or pneumatic action.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 the controlling of the piston c iseffected by pneumatic action. A piston-t working in an auxiliarycylinder 72., has its piston rod y connected to the lever s. Thecylinder it communicates with the compression chamber of the workingcylinder through the medium of a pipe '11, in which is arranged a valvep. On the crank shaft 1:. is arranged a cam which engages a roller 10 ona rod 1' connected to the va ve p. A spring v tends to kee the roller uin engagement with the cam g. uring the rotation of the driving shaft1:. and when the piston 7c is near its up er dead point, the cam qlowers the rod 1' w 'ch opens the valve 1) to admit pressure medium fromthe compression chamber into the auxiliary cylinder The pressure in thecylinder it forces the piston t outwardly and through the medium of thelever s the piston c is forced inwardly.

By suitably controlling the opening and closing of the valve p themovement of the piston t may first be caused to take place with a suddenstart and then continue at less speed.

Instead of the fuel passin through a number of holes it may beintroduced through an annular slit m as shown in Fig. 2.

The devices shown in 'Figs. 2 and 3 are modifications of means foractuating piston c. In Fi 2 the cam 11 is mounted on the crank sha t 12,while iII-Flg. 3 a shaft 1 is provided which enables the cam to operatedirectly on the roller :0 of lever s.

The manner in which the combustion roeeeds, depends upon the manner offue introduction and upon the nature of the movement of the piston c;that is to say it depends upon the independent exterior controllingmechanism. It is therefore, possible to obtain either slow or rapid, andeither continuous or intermittent combustion at will, as any suitablekind of controlling mechanism me be used for the purpose of injectingthe fuel: and for forcin 1n the igniting air.

The functions 0 the sup lemental cylinder 1) in connection with t esupplemental piston c, and the fuel supply are such that not only is anykind of igniter unnecessary but also any kind of gasifier, vaporizer oratomizer. The supplemental cylinder may also be used as a startingdevice in which case the working cylinder is filled with comressed airby hand orby means of pumps or from reservoirs, and the first combustionis thereupon effected by sudden downward movement of the piston c, afterwhich normal working of the engine takes place.

It is not indispensable that the supplemene tal cylinder 1) contain pureair; on the contrary, a pipe I having a suitable cut-off member I maybe'provided through which fuel in the form of gases, va ors, dust orliquid may be introduced into t e cylindef b. This arrangement ispreferably used when the fuel introduced through the pipe or slit m isdiffieult to ignite, or when it is desired to obtain the ignitingtemperature in the cylinder 1) with a slighter amount of com ression, orwhen two different kinds of fue are to be used, such as liquid fuel andcoal ,dust.

The passages 0(Fig. 1) may open into the working cylinder at anysuitable place and may extend in any suitable direction and they may beprovided with suitable nozzles in order to extend the combustion in theworking cylinder.

The chamber 1) may even contain absolutely neutral gases,-when thedesired'object is simply to generate, by the first rapid downwardmovement of the piston c, a temperatureithat is sufiicient to effectduring the following gradual forcing of the gases into the workincylinder first an ignition and then a gradua burning in the said workingcylinder. Also in the cylinder at the air may be mixed with neutralgases such as residues from combustions, or certain fuels, such as verypoor gases, if it be desired to modify the rate of burning by so doing.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

In an internal combustion engine, the combination with the workingcylinder and its piston com ressing air therein, of a supplemental cyinderdirectly communicating withthe working cylinder through arestrictden y compress an igniting medium in the supplemental cylinderand then force it gradually into the workin cylinder, and separate meansfor feeding uel to the igniting medium as it enters the workingcylinder.

The foregoing specification signedat Winterthur this 30th day of June,1905.

J AKOB SULZER. In presence of 1 AUGUST MiiRKLIN, VALENTIN HOUGHER.

ed assage, means constructed to first sud-

